Rachel is asked to calculate the density of a liquid. She correctly measures the mass of the liquid to be 14 grams, but she incorrectly measures the volume of the liquid to be 10 mL.
The actual volume of the liquid is 9 mL.
If Rachel uses the following equation to calculate the density of the liquid
14 g ÷ 10 mL = 1.4 g/mL
how will Rachel's incorrect measurement of volume affect her density calculation?
Rachel obtains 14/10 = 1.4 g/mL whereas she should obtain
14/9 = 1.555 which I would round to 1.6 g/mL if she had measured the volume correctly.
Rachel's incorrect measurement of volume will affect her density calculation because she used the incorrect value in the calculation. Density is defined as the mass of a substance divided by its volume. In this case, Rachel correctly measured the mass of the liquid to be 14 grams, but she incorrectly measured the volume as 10 mL.
If Rachel had used the correct volume of 9 mL in her calculation, the density would be calculated as:
14 g ÷ 9 mL = 1.56 g/mL
However, since Rachel used the incorrect volume of 10 mL, her calculated density is 1.4 g/mL. This means that her calculated density is lower than the actual density of the liquid.
It's important to note that accuracy in measurement is crucial for obtaining accurate results. In Rachel's case, if she had used the correct volume, her calculated density would have been closer to the actual density of the liquid. Therefore, it's always important to pay attention to the accuracy of measurements and use the correct values in calculations to ensure accurate results.